Asia Cup 2014 Highlights, Schedule, Fixture & Preview

Preview: The 25th of February will see the start of the much anticipated Asia cup, which will for the first time even include the Afghanistan national side. Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will make up the numbers as the sides will contest in an 11 match tournament, of which the final will be played at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on the 8th March.

Pakistan are the current holders of the Asia cup when they won the tournament in 2011/12 in Bangladesh. It will be a frantic tournament, with a game played every day of the tournament, giving players very little time to adjust and prepare during the tournament.

Sri Lanka will be favorites to won the tournament, as they will be well adapted to local conditions, currently playing in a series against Bangladesh. Captain Angelo Matthews will look to add a trophy behind his name, with the likes of Kumar Sangakkara looking in excellent form. The spin bowling of Sachithra Senanayake will hold the key to Sri Lankans success.

India were dealt a huge blow, with news that MS Dhoni will not captain the side due to an injury. He probably deserves the rest before the T20 world cup, and will hand over the leadership role to future Indian Captain Virat Kohli. The side will be low on confidence after taking a hammering from the New Zealand side in all three formats of the game. They will have plenty to prove, with the captaincy of Virat Kohli perhaps adding the spark the side needs.

Misbah-ul-Haq will lead a confident Pakistan side who’s last ODI series was against Sri Lanka, a series which they won 3-2 in a very closely contested affair. The performance of Saeed Ajmal on the slow and turning Bangladesh wicket will hold the key for Pakistan. He will be ably supported by the veteran Shahid Afridi, who always adds value to any side. Ajmal had a good time in South Africa during the local T20 tournament, where he picked up plenty of wicket on unfavorable conditions.

Afghanistan will be the new boys on the block, and will be appearing in their first ever Asia cup. They have the ability to cause a few shock upsets, particularly in conditions which are on offer. Mohammad Nabi will captain the side with the experience of 27 ODI matches behind his name.

Bangladesh will struggle, and will need to at least beat Afghanistan if they don’t want to end up with the wooden spoon. They are currently struggling against Sri Lanka in their own backyard, and will need to improve of they want to have any chance in the tournament. Without Iqbal at the top of the order they seems to struggle for good starts, which puts pressure on the middle order that they can’t handle.

Many will be looking forward to the tournament, which if expected to be dominated by spin bowling from all the sides. India will have been favorites, but it will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli can handle the pressure of captaincy under pressure.